Surya Kiran (Sanskrit:- Sun Rays) is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force, successors to the Thunderbolts. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 to serve as the "Ambassadors of the Indian Air Force" and to "showcase the professionalism, the calibre and the mettle of the Indian Air Force". The team has since performed numerous demonstrations in various parts of the country and abroad, and is today among the three renowned nine-aircraft aerobatic teams in the world. The squadron is primarily composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft and are based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka.
Formation Aerobatics has been a part of Indian Air Force aviation history ever since its nativity. Paucity of space prevents the exhaustive details of all those who have performed in Display Formation flying. The roots would trace down to even before 1964, when four Mysteres crowds over Delhi on Republic Day.1982, the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Air force saw the inception of nine Hunter aircraft performing feats in the air. Led by Wg Cdr PS Brar, they called themselves the ‘Thunderbolts’ and were painted deep blue with streaks of lightning passing all through. They performed through out the country and were subsequently commanded by Wg Cdr DK Dhige, Wg Cdr B Mukherjee and Wg Cdr TS Randhawa respectively. The Hunters were eventually phased out and the indigenously manufactured Kiran MK Iis were tasked to stay in formation.Wg Cdr AR Nigam led the new team in 1990. Wg Cdr KK Vijay Kumar replaced him as the Team Leader and perfected a four aircraft team. In 1966 the team was christened ‘SURYAKIRAN’ and upgraded to a 6ac status under the command of Wg Cdr K Malik. 1997 saw late Wg Cdr Anil Murgai leading nine Kirank Mk Iis in formation and soon after, Wg Cdr A Tiwari included a two ac synchronised medley to complete the show to what it is today. Evolution does not stop here and new profiles with add-one are tried out frequently.The nine aircraft take off in VICs of three and join up in close formation, manoeuvering between speeds of 150 and 650 Kmph with their wing tips a mere 5 metres apart. The various profiles undertaken are a series of dynamic combinations resulting in constantly changing formations. This subjects the pilots to alternating ‘g’ forces between +6 to –1.5. perfection comes only with practice and that is the reason why the team looks at each and every manoeuvre in detail on the ground. It is then flown and finally debriefed with the help of video recordings.Thus emerges the 15-20 min of aerial choreography of the pilots.To perform all these hair raising manoeuvres requires tremendous concentration, grit and determination tot take the aircraft to the extremes of it’s envelope.The team has successfully enthralled crowds from Srinagar down to Trivandrum and even beyond to Sri Lanka. On the romatic note the arrow through the heart carved out by Synchro pair virtually pierces the audience and is truly the icing on the cake.
The Suryakirans operate 16 HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 trainer aircraft. 
The HJT-16 is the basic armaments trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force, and is used for intermediate flight and weapons training. The aircraft is also effective in reconnaissance and counter insurgency operations. The aircraft used by the team are painted in a "day-glo orange" and white colour scheme.A particular difficulty faced by the team was the side-by-side seating arrangement in the Kiran cockpits.[1] The members flying to the left of the leader had to fly from the right seat. However, the master seat of the aircraft was the left seat. Therefore, per force these pilots had to fly dual with another pilot sitting on the left seat to operate some of the controls like the undercarriage, flaps, radio set and the canopy.With the ageing of Kiran aircraft, the HJT-36 Sitara aircraft has been developed as a replacement. The aircraft first flew in 2003, and is planned to be inducted into service by 2009. The first orders for the aircraft by the Indian Air Force was for 16 HJT-36 that will replace the HJT-16s of the Surya Kiran team.The two inboard drop tanks of Suryakiran Kiran MkII aircraft have been modified to carry colour dye for generating smoke. Deisel is used for generating white smoke and colur dye is mixed with deisel to generate coulored smoke. Because of smoke mod, only two outboard drop tanks can be used to carry ATF, whcih gives Suryakirans a maximum ferry range of 300nm. For displays, Suryakirans fly only with two inboard drop tanks, which carry dye for smoke generation.
The team has a total of 13 pilots of whom only 9 are flying at any given time. 
Pilots are selected twice a year for a three-year tour of duty. Only Fighter aircraft qualified pilots are selected. All pilots in the team are Qualified flying instructors (QFI's) with around 2,000 hours of fighter flying experience and 1,000 hours on the Kiran aircraft. The Team is headed by a Commanding Officer who is also the leader of the formation during display sorties. The team leader has the opportunity of selecting his future team pilots after subjecting them to grueling flight trials and tests. The present team CO is Wg Cdr Joy Thomas Kurien a Mig 21 pilot.Besides the pilots, the team has a Flight Commander, an administrator and a qualified Technical Officers. The Flight Commander is in charge of operational planning. The administrator, apart from looking after administrative requirement of the team, also provides the commentary during public displays. The Senior Engineering Officer (the SEO or ‘Spanner’), along with fifty technicians, has the task of maintaining and servicing the Team’s aircraft. In all technical aspects, the decision of the Chief Engineering Officer is the final word, whilst on detachments the Senior Engineering Officer of the team assumes this responsibility.
The team has performed at all Aero India's to date, as well as during the International Fleet Review in Mumbai in February 2001. It has also performed in various cities, right from South India, to Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.They have also given a performance in SriLanka, Singapore, China, Malaysia and Laos for different ocassions.